For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! 

—Ephesians 5:8

Scripture:

Ephesians 5:8 

The Bible is filled with stories of people who allowed coveting to destroy them. Achan, for instance, coveted something that didn’t belong to him, and he lost his life. Judas Iscariot betrayed the Lord for thirty pieces of silver and ultimately took his own life.

In 1 Timothy we read, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows” (6:10 NLT)

Coveting is more than simply admiring something. It’s the mindset that says, “I’m going to get that, no matter what it costs me or anyone else.” It is an obsession with accumulation and possessions. Coveting can destroy us spiritually.

Colossians 3:5 warns us about covetousness, which is idolatry: “So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world” (NLT).

Writing to the church in Ephesus, the apostle Paul said, “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!” (Ephesians 5:8 NLT).

Often, when the Bible tells us not to do one thing, it tells us to do another in its place. For instance, in Ephesians 4:28 we read, “If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need” (NLT).

In other words, “You who have stolen, stop stealing and instead do something productive so you can give to others.”

Coveting is a powerful and often misunderstood sin. It can cripple us spiritually and even destroy us. We must not underestimate it or leave it unchecked.

 Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. 

—Ephesians 5:3

Scripture:

Ephesians 5:3 

The ancient city of Ephesus was known for its wickedness. The capital of the Roman province of Asia and a busy commercial port, Ephesus was an affluent area. It was also the headquarters for the cult of the goddess Diana.

Thousands of prostitutes in the employ of the Temple of Diana combed the city. They essentially would sell their bodies to draw people to the temple, generate revenue, and promote worship of their false goddess.

Many believers in the church of Ephesus had come out of a very dark background. In their culture, prostitution and immorality were a way of life. Yet some who were professing faith in Christ had returned to their old ways of immorality. And some had never left it to begin with.

Writing to followers of Jesus living in this sex-obsessed culture, the apostle Paul said, “Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people” (Ephesians 5:3 NLT).

Paul was saying, “Stay away from immorality, adultery, and covetousness.”

The parallels to our culture are obvious. It is clear that we, too, are living in a sex-obsessed culture. Yet God is saying to believers, “As My children, as My beloved, as those who bear the family name wherever you go, stay away from immorality.”

I thank God for every Christian man and woman who is standing their ground in this wicked and adulterous generation. I thank God for husbands and wives who are saying, “We are going to remain faithful to each other.” And I thank God for each family that has drawn a line around their home, saying, “It stops here.”

As followers of Jesus Christ, we should not only avoid the very sin of immorality but also avoid anything that would bring us remotely close to it.

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 

—Ephesians 1:5

Scripture:

Ephesians 1:5 

When John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, a voice came from Heaven saying, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy” (Matthew 3:17 NLT).

Then we read in Ephesians 1 that “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” (verse 5 NLT).

The next verse continues, “So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son” (verse 6 nlt). Or, as the New King James Version renders it, “To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”

This means that as Christians, God loves us as much as He loves His own dear Son. Here’s what Jesus said to the Father: “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me” (John 17:22–23 NLT).

Before knowing Jesus Christ, we were without hope. But through Jesus, God has adopted us as His own beloved children. And now we are precious and dear to Him.

Yet God doesn’t love us because we are lovable. Rather, God loves us because we are in Christ. We have been made “accepted in the Beloved.” God loves us unconditionally, has accepted us, and has given us all that we need to effectively live the Christian life.

And because we have this special relationship with God, it should impact us in the way that we live.

Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. 

—2 Timothy 2:22

Scripture:

2 Timothy 2:22 

If you will commit yourself to grow in your love for Jesus Christ and be enamored with Him and dedicated to Him, then you will see this world for what it is.

As the hymn says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

The Bible warns us, “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts” (2 Timothy 2:22 NLT).

In other words, flee and follow. Run from anything that stimulates lust and follow anything that makes you want to do right.

Psalm 1 tells us, “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night” (verses 1–2 NLT).

The best way to avoid losing ground is to gain ground. The best way to keep from going backward is to go forward.

The problem is that a lot of believers are not following after righteousness. They are not pursuing God. Instead, they are coasting along in spiritual cruise control. Meanwhile, there are mountains to climb. There is rugged terrain to navigate. There are opportunities for growth.

Yet many Christians are kicking back, and they will end up becoming spiritually lazy instead of moving forward. And sadly, it’s only a matter of time until they fall.

I have often said that the Christian life is like a greased pole. You are either climbing or slipping. How about you? Are you climbing? Are you growing and maturing? Or are you sliding backward?

Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. 

—Ephesians 5:11

Scripture:

Ephesians 5:11 

In our culture today, no one wants to speak up for what is true. The motto of modern society could be “I can tolerate anyone except someone who is intolerant.”

If someone dares to say, “I think that is wrong” or “I disagree with that” or, even worse, “The Bible says, . . .” they are labeled as intolerant, judgmental, narrow-minded, and bigoted.

As Christians, however, we cannot tolerate sin. We are to confront sin with intolerance and speak the truth—but we must speak the truth in love. We need to compassionately and lovingly explain what is true.

The apostle Paul warned the believers in Ephesus, “Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them” (Ephesians 5:11 NLT).

I don’t envy the responsibility of doctors who have to deliver bad news to a patient. No doubt they would love to be able to say that everything is fine. But in good conscience, they can’t do that, because the test results say otherwise. It’s difficult. It’s uncomfortable. But they have to tell the truth.

We Christians must do the same. But we are dealing with something far more serious. We’re talking about eternal separation from God.

We love to tell people that God loves them and has compassion on them. And of course, that is true. Yet we are reluctant to say they are sinners who are separated from God. We need to tell the truth.

Our culture needs to hear the truth. Yes, it’s easier to blend into the background and avoid offending anyone. But do we want to offend God? If we don’t tell the whole truth, then we will.

Every believer is called to declare the whole counsel of God. He has called us to preach the gospel and to be His representatives. Therefore, we must do our part and be faithful to Him.

 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 

—Ephesians 4:15

Scripture:

Ephesians 4:15 

One of the worst scourges in the church today is that of hypocrisy. It probably has turned more people away from the faith than anything else.

In addition, some people are just waiting for Christians to slip up so they can conveniently hang their doubts on what we did or did not do to meet their standards of what a Christian ought to be.

Yet some Christians don’t even think about this. They aren’t even aware that someone might be watching their lives. And sadly, many are willfully ignorant of what the Bible teaches.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus, “We will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church” (Ephesians 4:15 NLT).

Perhaps the best translation of the phrase “speak the truth in love” would be “hold the truth in love.” It is the idea of speaking the truth, discussing it, and teaching it. But it is also more than that. It is living it.

Paul was saying, “You need to grow up. You need to find balance in your life as a believer. This means that you know the truth. But you also live the truth.”

It also means that we say what is true, even if someone doesn’t necessarily appreciate it. The streams of love must always flow into the bank of truth. It’s great to be loving, but there must be truth as well.

So, if a viewpoint contradicts what the Scripture teaches, we must warn people so they don’t fall prey to it. We must compassionately love them but also tell them the truth.

The Bible declares, “Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy” (Proverbs 27:6 NLT). True love works closely with the truth.

 Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you. 

—1 Timothy 4:16

Scripture:

1 Timothy 4:16 

Years ago, I watched a TV show in which a so-called magician revealed his secrets. I had always wondered about how these entertainers performed certain tricks, and it was fascinating to me.

At the same time, it reminded me of how the devil is a master manipulator. He wants to trick us, and we need to be aware of that. He tries to dazzle us with a lot of deceptions and temptations.

The Bible reminds us, “Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:16 NLT).

As Christians, we need to know what we believe. False teachers can trick and mislead us, especially when we are new in the faith and don’t have spiritual discernment.

The apostle Paul wrote, “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. . . . Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth” (Ephesians 4:11–12, 14 NLT).

The King James Version renders the last part of the passage this way: “They lie in wait to deceive.”

That is how Satan is. He sizes us up, waits, and looks for the right opportunity. And then when he sees the opportune time, he strikes. We need to be aware of his tactics and make sure that we are spiritually mature. And we need to be firmly grounded in what we believe.

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 

—1 John 4:1

Scripture:

1 John 4:1 

When I was a new Christian, I wanted to find a shortcut to spiritual maturity. I didn’t want to wait fifteen to twenty years to learn and grow. I wanted spiritual maturity overnight. I was always looking for an angle: What can I do? Where can I go? Is there a book that I can read? Is there one experience that I could have in my life that would bring me to instant spiritual maturity?

That is a trait of youth. You want something, and you want it now. New believers can be that way, and so can immature believers. They don’t want to wait for something. They want it now.

Another trait of youth is they like new things. Young Christians can be that way too. They like things that dazzle them.

When the apostle Paul visited Athens, he met the high council of the city. They said to him, “Come and tell us about this new teaching. . . . You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about” (Acts 17:19–20 NLT).

The next verse adds this detail: “(It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas)” (verse 21 NLT).

That is typical of the mentality of youth. They like something that’s new.

However, we need to be careful. As we mature, we realize that just because something is new doesn’t mean it is better.

We can be looking for a new experience, truth, or revelation and get ourselves into a lot of trouble. Instead, we need to apply judgment and realize that we’re potentially vulnerable. If we can’t find it in the Bible, then we don’t need it from someone else. The Bible is the arbiter of truth.

I am writing to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. I am writing to you who are young in the faith because you have won your battle with the evil one. 

—1 John 2:13

Scripture:

1 John 2:13 

I like to be around new believers. I like the questions they ask and the statements they make. Best of all, I like their zeal. They’re excited about what Christ has done for them.

New believers are the lifeblood of the church.

Of course, they need older believers to help them get grounded spiritually. But older believers also need new believers to remind them of what really matters in life. Older believers need to maintain their spiritual zeal.

It’s cute for babies to be babies. There is nothing like a newborn, especially your own. And as babies get a little older, it’s fun to watch them do childlike things. But it’s not so adorable anymore when your child is eighteen years old. We cannot remain babyish forever. We have to grow up.

When it comes to spiritual growth, we need to remain childlike with the excitement and thrill of a new Christian. But at the same time, we need to mature and grow in our faith.

The apostle Peter dealt with this truth when he wrote, “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation” (1 Peter 2:2 NLT).

New believers are often emotionally oriented. The Christian life is all new to them, and their emotions go back and forth. That is fine when someone is young in the faith.

But it’s sad when someone who has known the Lord for a period of years is still fickle spiritually. They have no clear viewpoint or direction in life and don’t really know what they believe. That is understandable when you are new in the faith. But it is tragic when you are not.

 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 

—Ephesians 4:14

Scripture:

Ephesians 4:14 

When we begin as Christians, when we put our faith in Christ and are born again, we start out as spiritual babies. This is true of every person, regardless of how young or old we are.

Some grew up in the church and have always been familiar with the Bible, worship, and prayer. They made their own personal commitment to the Lord despite the fact that their parents raised them in the church. They realized their walk with the Lord needed to be their own. And that is a wonderful thing.

Others came in cold from the world. I was one of those people. I had no background in the church and no understanding of the Bible. I had never worshipped God before, knew nothing about prayer, and knew relatively nothing about Jesus. Basically, I was ignorant.

So, when I came into the faith, it was like a new world to me. I had a new outlook on life. I remember hearing the Bible for the first time when Pastor Chuck Smith spoke, and I had never heard anything like it before. It was mind-boggling. I realized that I had so much to learn.

There are some Christians, however, who have known the Lord for years yet are still spiritual babies. They need to be spoon-fed spiritual truths. They still need to be dazzled. And they are still looking for something new. It is time to grow up.

It’s time to be mature people of God, with a faith that sustains us, instead of living on fickle emotions that come and go. It is also time to find younger believers and help them grow up to spiritual maturity as well. There are false teachings and other things that can lead us astray. We need to be mature so that we can apply proper biblical understanding.

Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind. 

—1 Corinthians 14:20

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 14:20 

Some people seem to grow up before their time. While it’s great to be responsible, take care of yourself, and be resourceful, you don’t have to do all of that at the age of five. Responsibilities will come soon enough.

What a different life childhood is. Some people don’t realize this, but you can’t be a child again.

The Bible teaches that, as Christians, we are to be childlike in our faith. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3–4 NLT).

That means we need to humble ourselves and realize that we don’t have all the answers. It means we need to come in complete dependence on God, putting our faith in Him. And as the years pass by and our faith deepens, we need to keep a sense of childlike simplicity and wonder.

There are some areas of the Christian life in which we are to be childlike. We don’t need to know all the intricacies of evil.

On the other hand, there are areas in our lives in which we need to grow up spiritually. Sometimes we behave like spoiled children when we should be behaving like mature people of God.

The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind” (1 Corinthians 14:20 NLT).

There is nothing wrong with being spiritual babies when we’re new in the faith. But as the years pass by, we need to become mature, while still maintaining a childlike faith.

 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 

—2 Timothy 3:16

Scripture:

2 Timothy 3:16 

Sometimes people claim that God told them to do a certain thing, yet it directly contradicts what the Bible says. The truth is that God will never contradict what is written in Scripture.

God speaks to us through the Bible, which is why we need to read it every day and memorize it as well. We discover God’s will as we read His Word. David wrote in the Psalms, “The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant” (25:14 NLT).

Of course, God may also speak to us through certain circumstances. But I haven’t based any big decisions in my life on circumstances alone. I have found, however, that when I am in the will of God, things will come together circumstantially. This is what we Christians often refer to as doors opening or closing.

As we learn God’s Word, we will be able to discern whether people are speaking for God when they claim to be. We will find everything we need to know about God in the Bible. And we also need to evaluate everything according to it.

Second Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right” (NLT).

This is important, because sometimes our emotions get the best of us. Have you ever had a time when fear and anxiety gripped you, but then you corrected it with the Word of God? You reminded yourself of what the Bible says.

The Word of God—not pious platitudes or cute posts on social media—will sustain us in times of difficulty. We need God’s Word in our lives.

I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart. 

—Psalm 40:8

Scripture:

Psalm 40:8 

Does God have a master plan for our lives? And if so, how do we discover it? How can we know the will of God?

Often, we have two views about the will of God that aren’t accurate. The first view is that finding God’s will is difficult, as though God were hiding it from us. We imagine God looking down from Heaven and saying, “You’re getting warmer. Warmer. Hot! Hot! No. Cold. Cold. Cold.”

The opposite view is that God’s will is something undesirable, like going on a diet. Every diet seems to be either boring or miserable. And we can think of God’s will that way.

But here is what we need to know: On one hand, there is joy in the will of God. For example, the apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, “By the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other” (Romans 15:32 NLT).

God’s will is joyful, and He wants to reveal His will to us.

On the other hand, when we’re not walking in God’s will, there is misery. In fact, the most miserable place to be is outside of God’s will.

The will of God is not an option for the true Christian. Therefore, not only should we want to know the will of God, but we also should be anxious to do the will of God. The psalmist David wrote, “I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart” (Psalm 40:8 NLT).

God’s will is not something that we are forced to do, but it should be something that we want to do. And we’ll find joy in doing the will of God.

But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. 

—Exodus 2:3

Scripture:

Exodus 2:3 

When Amram and Jochebed, the parents of Moses, realized they could no longer hide Moses, they put the matter in God’s hands. They placed Moses inside a little basket covered with pitch, which means that it was waterproof.

Then they put the basket among the reeds in the Nile River, which happened to be where Pharaoh’s daughter decided to bathe in the river that day. As though on cue, Moses cried, and she saw the basket in the reeds. And when she opened it and laid eyes on Moses, her maternal instincts kicked in.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Miriam, the sister of Moses, approached the princess and offered to find someone to help nurse the baby for her. Ultimately, Pharaoh’s daughter paid Jochebed to nurse her own son until he was older.

I love how that story unfolds, because in it we see the practical and the spiritual working together. Sometimes we go too far one way or the other. Everything is spiritual and never practical, or everything is practical and never spiritual.

However, there’s a place for trusting, and there’s a place for being practical. Baby Moses cried, and Pharaoh’s daughter heard. A baby’s tears were God’s first weapon in His war against Egypt.

How hard it must have been for Jochebed to turn Moses over to Pharaoh’s daughter when the time came. But she had to trust the Lord.

Jesus said, “And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29 NLT).

Jesus keeps His promises, and He will keep His promises to you. Whatever you have given up to follow Jesus will be more than made up to you in this life and in the life to come.

It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command. 

—Hebrews 11:23

Scripture:

Hebrews 11:23 

All parents think their children are beautiful, but Moses was extraordinarily so. The Bible tells us that his parents “saw that God had given them an unusual child” (Hebrews 11:23 NLT). Or, as the New King James Version translates it, “He was a beautiful child.”

Apparently, Moses was exceptional in the way he looked. However, in the original language, the word translated “beautiful” also implies that he was cheerful. And when Stephen addressed the Sanhedrin, he said that Moses was “a beautiful child in God’s eyes” (Acts 7:20 NLT). In other words, God had a special purpose for his life.

So, not only was this child beautiful, but he had a purpose. God singled out Moses. And in the same way, God has a purpose for you, a special plan that is unique to you.

God called Jeremiah to be a prophet before Jeremiah was born. He said, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5 NLT).

That’s why it is such a tragedy in our world that so many lives of unborn children, living souls made in the image of God, have been taken. Among those millions there may have been someone to change our world, someone to make a significant impact on our culture.

The psalmist David wrote, “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed” (Psalm 139:16 NLT).

Have you ever stopped and wondered why God has preserved you up to this point? Maybe you have had a close brush with death or an illness that you weren’t supposed to survive. Yet here you are right now. Just as God had a plan for Moses, God has a plan for you.

 Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 

—Deuteronomy 30:19

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 30:19 

Things happen in life that are bad, and they always will be bad. There are things that never should have happened, but they did. But despite the bad, God can still bring good.

The Bible promises, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28 NLT).

Yet this is often misunderstood. We mistakenly think it means that God will take every bad thing and turn it into a good thing.

What is God’s endgame, then? We find the answer to that question in the next verse: “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (verse 29 NLT).

God knew us before we knew Him. And He chose us to become like His Son. This is our hope. Now, the devil doesn’t want this to happen. In fact, he wants us to abandon hope.

But Jesus wants us to abandon hopelessness; we can have hope as His followers. He said, “The thief’s [devil’s] purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10 NLT).

We have a choice: we can either listen to the devil or listen to Jesus.

Don’t listen to the devil, because he is a liar and the father of lies (see John 8:44). He will whisper in your ear and say, “Your life is not worth living, and your family and friends would be better off without you.” Those are lies.

Your life is a gift from God, and it is worth living. And you are loved more than you realize.

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. 

—John 10:10

Scripture:

John 10:10 

Things happen in life that are bad, and they always will be bad. There are things that never should have happened, but they did. But despite the bad, God can still bring good.

The Bible promises, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28 NLT).

Yet this is often misunderstood. We mistakenly think it means that God will take every bad thing and turn it into a good thing.

What is God’s endgame, then? We find the answer to that question in the next verse: “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (verse 29 NLT).

God knew us before we knew Him. And He chose us to become like His Son. This is our hope. Now, the devil doesn’t want this to happen. In fact, he wants us to abandon hope.

But Jesus wants us to abandon hopelessness; we can have hope as His followers. He said, “The thief’s [devil’s] purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10 NLT).

We have a choice: we can either listen to the devil or listen to Jesus.

Don’t listen to the devil, because he is a liar and the father of lies (see John 8:44). He will whisper in your ear and say, “Your life is not worth living, and your family and friends would be better off without you.” Those are lies.

Your life is a gift from God, and it is worth living. And you are loved more than you realize.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

—Acts 1:8

Scripture:

Acts 1:8 

From a human standpoint, there was no way the disciples were ready for such a task. Yet before Jesus ascended to Heaven, He gave these final words to them: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NLT).

Their faith was weak. They had failed in their public witness and their private faith. Simon Peter, their acknowledged leader, had openly denied the Lord. So, how could they ever go and change the world?

They would do it with the power of the Holy Spirit, which they would have soon. Jesus was saying, “With the power that I am going to give to you, you will have power to share your faith, power to speak up and be counted, and power to turn your world upside down.”

The same power that was available to the first-century church is available to the twenty-first-century church as well. Speaking on the Day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter said, “This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God” (Acts 2:39 NLT).

So, where do we start? It’s a daunting task to think of going into all the world and preaching the gospel. But how about this? Go into all your world and preach the gospel. You don’t have to cross an ocean; you can simply cross the street.

How about starting with the people who live near you? How about starting with members of your family, your coworkers, or the students on your campus? Just start where you are.

If you want to reach the world, then start with your world.

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 

—Hebrews 10:24

Scripture:

Hebrews 10:24 

The church is the only organization that Jesus started. Jesus said He would build the church “and all the powers of hell will not conquer it” (Matthew 16:18 NLT). Every believer needs to be an active part of the church, because it is where we learn about God together.

It’s where we worship together, find accountability to one another, and discover and use our spiritual gifts. We simply cannot be the Christians God has called us to be without being part of the church.

Hebrews 10:24 tells us, “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works” (NLT).

The J. B. Phillips translation of this verse says, “Let us think of one another and how we can encourage each other to love and do good deeds.”

My objective has never been to have a big church. My objective has always been to have a strong church and, even more to the point, a biblical church. However, if a church is not growing numerically, then something is wrong.

There should be church growth, and the best kind of growth is from new believers coming in. In fact, show me a church that doesn’t have a constant flow of new believers, and I will show you a church that is stagnating. We have a choice before us as the church, and that is to either evangelize or fossilize.

However, there are people who are disillusioned by the church today. In fact, it has become trendy to critique the church.

Now, do I think the church is perfect? No. Do I think the church has flaws? Yes. But the Bible says that Jesus loves the church. Therefore, I would never speak critically of that which Jesus loves. Jesus established the church, and we are to be part of it.

All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. 

—1 Corinthians 12:27

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 12:27 

Every person in the church has an effect on it, for better or for worse.

If you are strong spiritually, then you build up the church a little more. If you are weak spiritually, you weaken it a little more. If you allow God to use you to touch lives, you help the church a little more. And if you’re compromising spiritually, you weaken it a little more. Every person has an effect.

Writing to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul said, “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad” (1 Corinthians 12:26 NLT).

But Paul also reproved this church because they were boasting about bringing in someone who claimed to be a believer but was living immorally. They were proud of how tolerant they were.

Paul told them, “You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame. And you should remove this man from your fellowship” (1 Corinthians 5:2 NLT).

You matter in the church. Every person lifting their voice in worship matters. Every gift in the offering matters. And every act we do outside the church matters. If you’re a Christian, then you are an important part of the body of Christ.

We need to get rid of this me-first, what’s-in-it-for-me mindset and start thinking biblically. We need to start asking what we can do to help others and serve others. We need to ask how we can learn to resolve conflicts and maintain the unity that is in the church.

Instead of approaching church like a consumer looking to simply get in and get out every weekend, come in and use the gifts that God has given you.

It can change your life, and it can certainly change the way you see the church.